The Spirit of Service in Trainee Scientists at the University of Rochester

News Article by Claire McCarthy, PhD Candidate

            Along with a history of advances in biomedical research, scientists at UR have established a legacy of outreach and service. Dr. William F. Neuman was a founder and Chair of the Department of Radiation Biology and Biophysics at UR, which stemmed from his work with the Manhattan Project. He was a world-renowned expert in the musculoskeletal field who made significant contributions into the understanding of bone matrix physiology and hormonal effects on bone structure. However, in addition to his work in orthopedics, Dr. Neuman believed that scientists should serve their communities and be “good people.”

Story of RDSS (The Rochester Data Science Society)

News Article by Shiyang Ma, Adan Z. Becerra, Huiwen Xu, and Zhengyuan Yang

The digital revolution, coupled with the availability of vast data systems, has helped human beings recognize the importance of using data to make informed decisions. This has stimulated the development of data science, an interdisciplinary field that seeks to create tools and systems to collect, process, and analyze modern data warehouses in order to solve real-world problems. That’s why we (Shiyang Ma, 3^rd Year PhD Student in Statistics, Huiwen Xu, 3^rd Year PhD Student in Health Services Research, Adan Z. Becerra, 5^th Year PhD Student in Epidemiology, and Zhengyuan Yang, 1^st Year PhD Student in Computer Science) decided to establish the Rochester Data Science Society (RDSS), the first ever student organization at the University of Rochester that serves all students interested in data science, statistics, computer science, engineering, health analytics, economics, or other related fields. Our varying interests and fields of study attest to the multidisciplinary nature of data science as well as its potential to impact the world.

Preparation Meets Opportunity

Career Story by Martha Harber, PhD (URMC MS 2003 and PhD 2006), Director of Field Applications at Unchained Labs

Some people arrive on day one of graduate school ready to tackle their favorite project, cure a disease, or solve an important problem. I got to graduate school without one idea of what I wanted to do. All I knew was that I loved learning science and I could keep doing that while I figured out what I wanted to do with my life. Thankfully, my time as a graduate student at URMC was a transformational time of learning, not just science, but also about myself. Here are some of the lessons that I learned and helped get me where I am now: Director of Field Applications in the scientific instrumentation company, Unchained Labs.

A Summer Job Blossoms into a Career in Clinical Microbiology

Career Story by Fred C. Tenover, Ph.D. D(ABMM), Vice President of Scientific Affairs, Adjunct Professor Emory University, and Consulting Professor Stanford University School of Medicine.

“Would you like a summer job?”  That is how my career as a clinical microbiologist began. I was ending my sophomore year as an undergraduate at the University of Dayton (UD), having spent the prior summer studying theology and philosophy in Europe.  The job I was offered was at St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center in Dayton in the microbiology laboratory, setting up cultures on patient specimens. I knew how to culture bacteria from my research project but there seemed to be much more to working in a hospital laboratory.  I was up for the challenge.  It did not take me long to realize that being a clinical microbiologist was a great career choice. As a laboratory director I would have the opportunity to be directly involved in patient care, to teach, and to perform applied research, all the while earning a hard salary from the hospital, as opposed to writing grants. I was hooked.

From the lab bench to the office – transitioning out of a research role as a scientist

Career Story by Melissa Badding, PhD, Toxicologist-Scientist at Exponent

Throughout my time as a Ph.D. graduate student and postdoctoral fellow, I felt that I was one of the few who actually enjoyed working at the lab bench.  My expectation was to have a career in laboratory research, and I took the necessary steps to move in that direction…but what happens when your perspectives/goals change?  How do you break away from the lab bench and into a non-laboratory, but still remain in a highly technical scientific career? Can you market the skills you have in an effective way to improve your visibility or professional footprint in the field and allow for a transition from academic science?  In my short career, I have learned lessons along the way from working in academia, the federal government, and private industry and how to keep an open mind and be flexible.